Changes!
It has been our intent all along
to break our Loop October-ish , store the boat, and return to Spokane for the
holidays, the ski season, snow blower operations, etc. And to return to the southern half of the
Loop in 2022. Our vision was that we
would make this happen “down the rivers”; somewhere north of the hurricane zone (30˚ North) but far enough
south to avoid freezing weather (thereby
avoiding the work and cost of winterization.)
Ideally, we thought we might
make it to the Kentucky Lakes region below the confluence of the Ohio and
Tennessee Rivers that is frequented by so many Loopers.
Enter Reality Check
- It's now mid-September
- The Kentucky Lakes region is still 600+ miles away by water.
- Only a few facilities “down the rivers” seemed to offer the combination of climate, storage facility, and repair services we are looking for. And most have waiting lists for a boat the size of Irish Lass.
- We are, frankly, homesick.
So………….
We decided to declare “Victory!”
for the 2021 cruising season right here and now on Lake Michigan. HOORAY!
We Win!
Enter Eldean Shipyard........
Located at Macatawa, MI near Holland, Eldean Shipyard
offered us indoor, heated winter storage for the Lass for a price
equal to the combined cost of the ourdoors+winterization+shrinkwrap offered by
others. With the added bonus of a
full-service shipyard that could address both seasonal maintenance and some
needed repairs. (Plus, the owner’s name
is Wade Eldean. What’s
not to like?!)
We actually discovered Eldean a
few weeks earlier while trying to assist fellow Looper Bye George with arrangements
for storage while they returned to Texas for a medical emergency. All we have to do is bring the Lass back north about 80 miles to their location,
prep her for storage, pick up our rental car, and head for home. Eldean (and our $$) will take care of the
rest. We made plans to be there by Sept
23 with a haul-out date of Oct 1.
Enter Lake Michigan weather........
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| Not fit out for man nor boat! |
To manage Lake Michigan’s weather, one only be concerned with three variables; wind direction, wind speed, and location. The Lake is large enough that it offers significant “fetch” to winds from any point of the compass. But where you are (and/or need to get) makes a huge difference. The common West and Northwest winds can be quite manageable on the Illinois/Wisconsin side of the lake where the shore offers a lee, but at the same time can wreak havoc on the Michigan side after roaring unchecked across 100 miles of open water. Similarly, the dunes on the Michigan side offer shelter from the South and East breezes that hammer the ports between Chicago and Green Bay. But as the winds shift around the compass, there are periods of relative calm, windows of opportunity for well-planned passages.
As we made plans to leave
Hammond, the Lake decided to put on a mighty demonstration for our benefit,
providing two days of Northwest winds of up to 35 knots and waves in excess of
12 feet. From our slip, we could hear
the waves crashing against the breakwall.
And see locals venture out in their boats, only to return immediately. We, along with several other Loopers,
elected to stay put and monitor the forecast for a window of good weather.
Two days later, we had our
chance. The winds were backing around
from north to south and Windy, our favorite wind forecast app, predicted a
lull period. After a trip to the fuel
dock at Hammond (our final fuel purchase of the season!), we set out intending
to make New Buffalo, IN, some 63 miles to the northeast. Our timing provided correct, and we made New
Buffalo in good time. But the forecast
for the coming days called for more high winds and big waves out of the West and beam-on to our northerly
course. Yuck. So, while Commadore Kathleen once again
re-jiggered our moorage reservations, we stretched our day to make another 26
miles back to the familiar West Basin Marina at St Joseph, MI. Arriving about 3:30 PM, we tucked into the
same slip we had occupied just a few weeks before.
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| Calm before the storm at St Joe. MI |
The forecast continued to deteriorate overnight. And, while we liked the staff and shelter of West Basin Marina, the shoreside amenities were quite distant. So we decided we would make an early exit and dash north another 23 miles to the port of South Haven, MI, where the Municipal Marina promised easy access to a visitor-oriented downtown. Departing at first light on Monday, we made the entrance at South Haven by 9:00 am, just as the forecast West winds began to rise.
Whew! (Or so we thought)
South Haven proved to have a nice transient marina within an easy
walk to a vibrant downtown of shops and restaurants. But we should have paid more attention to the seasonal
marina across the river. Memo to
self: If you see 45’ boats in boat lifts
along the shore, is it possible the waters there can get a little rough. Ya
think?
Enter Lake Michigan Weather (Again)
The forecast proved to be
accurate and by Monday evening conditions on the lake were nye on impassable
with sustained winds above 25 knots and waves at 12-15 feel. And it turned out our marina was perfectly
aligned for the wind-driven rollers that came up entrance to the Black River in
a West wind. By Wednesday, we had run
out of extra lines and fenders and were worn out from being rocked and rolled
and banged against the docks. And the
weather showed no signs of improvement.
Thankfully, the manager of the marina found space for us and fellow
Loopers, Aurora, Destiny, and Loafer in vacant seasonal slips across
the river and out of the “line of fire”. We shifted our moorage, looking forward to a more
restful night. Little did we know it
would be for five restful nights.
As the winds continued to make lake conditions untenable, we adopted a new wait-and-see routine. Our days began with a check of current conditions via the Lake Michigan Buoy System and the forecast on Windy. Then Admiral Maggie would walk us to the (empty) beach so we could see the waves crashing over the breakwater for ourselves.
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| Lake Michigan weather is for the birds! |
Then, given that our arrival at Eldean was being delayed, we would busy ourselves with preparations for storage. Cleaning and packing away linens, deflating and stowing our kayaks, folding and bagging the bikes, and packing up ALL those pairs of long pants and shoes we never wore (and vowed not to bring back). Our hope was to keep our 10/1 haul out date despite the weather delay. Our evenings were filled with Docktails and dinners with similarly stranded Loopers.
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| Loopers and Italian dining! WOO HOO! |
Monday, 9/27, showed a break in the weather, again in the midst of a shift in winds (from West to Northeast) and we took advantage. Slipping out the Black River early Tuesday, we have Irish Lass her head to 15 knots and dashed 25 miles north to the entrance to Lake Macatawa in moderated seas and winds. We made it to Eldean in fine shape, did a final and through pump out, and settled into our slip for final storage prep. We were feeling good-to-go!
Enter a message from Aroura
Shorty after we arrived at
Eldean, we got a message from Looper friends on Aurora that one of their crew
had received a positive COVID test. Oh,
shit. We had enjoyed their company on multiple
occasions at South Haven and she had been feeling poorly on the last couple of days
there. But we never considered it might be
coronavirus. Oh, shit! We are fully vaccinated and had been
COVID-cautious to varying degrees all summer, wearing our masks where they were
required. Frankly, COVID risk had seemed
distant. But now, here it was, right in
our lap
What to do?
The earliest appointments for a reliable
COVID test were on Thursday. And the results
would only follow up to 72 hours after that.
Electing to “wait to worry”, we pressed ahead with our preparations,
albeit with extra masking and regular does of Tylenol and Vitamins D and C. Commodore Kathleen headed off to the Grand
Rapids airport for our rent-a-SUV while Wade dismounted the anchor and the
dinghy (storage charges are based on LOA, after all). On Wednesday night, we
moved ashore to a motel. Thursday morning, both feeling a bit “flu-y”, we did drive-thru COVID tests at CVS, finished the final loads of laundry, and stuffed everything into our Nissan Armada from Enterprise.
Friday, Oct 1, we were homeward
bound
But that’s another story in itself.
